Occasionally I run through a neighborhood which has mostly neat, well maintained and attractive houses. The first time I ran through the neighborhood I couldn’t help but notice one house in particular. In stark contrast to every house around it, the place was a mess. The yard was overgrown. There was all kinds of “junk” scattered about. The front porch was cluttered and the only thing that seemed to be missing was a refrigerator or sofa. There was a vehicle on abandoned in the back yard. I wondered about the people that live there and what their lives must be like. Surely they are not aware of the conditions. Why wouldn’t they do something about them?
After a considerable amount of time, I recently passed through the neighborhood. When I came to the messy house, I could hardly believe what I saw. Everything about the house seemed to be just as I had noticed earlier, except for one thing. About 10′ from the front of the house, an eight foot privacy fence stretching across the width of the house had been constructed. Problem solved. Apparently the owner believed that it was better to expend time and money to build a facade than to clean the place up. Ironically, the fence was incomplete. The final section of fence leans against the house where it fits perfectly into the surrounding scene.
Surely no one in their right senses would go to the trouble to build a facade like that rather than just clean up the mess?